Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a pairing that delivers a smooth, high-fidelity experience across the board. The data shows a system capable of handling the simulator's demanding workloads at high resolutions while maintaining excellent frame rates, with the GPU acting as the primary performance driver in most scenarios. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to guide settings and expectations.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing your experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator. For the best balance of visual fidelity and fluid motion, the High preset is the standout recommendation. At 1920x1080, High delivers an average of 122 FPS, which is only 5 FPS less than the Ultra preset at 117 FPS. However, the benefits of High become more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, High achieves 99 FPS, a solid 4 FPS ahead of Ultra's 95 FPS. The most significant advantage is at 3840x2160, where High hits 73 FPS, compared to Ultra's 70 FPS. This shows that High offers nearly all the visual quality of Ultra but with a consistent performance buffer.

The Medium preset is a strong alternative if you desire higher frame rates, though it comes with a visual compromise. At 1080p, Medium averages 135 FPS, and at 1440p it holds at 126 FPS. It even maintains a playable 97 FPS at 4K. The data for Medium also includes minimum FPS figures, which are crucial for a simulator where stutters can be jarring. At 1080p, the minimum is 115 FPS, and at 1440p it's 107 FPS, indicating a stable experience. For lower-end displays or if you prioritize frame rate above all else, the Low preset provides the highest performance, from 148 FPS at 1080p down to 125 FPS at 4K.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for those with 1080p or 1440p displays who want absolute maximum visual quality and can tolerate slightly lower frame rates. At 4K, the 70 FPS average on Ultra is the lowest of the four presets and approaches the threshold where frame pacing issues can become noticeable. Given the data, the best experience is achieved by using the High preset, which provides a superior combination of visual quality, average frame rate, and consistency across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, this CPU is a capable partner for the RTX 4080, but the data suggests it is not the primary bottleneck. The processor's PassMark single-thread score is 2872, which is a strong result indicating good per-core performance, essential for a game that relies heavily on a main simulation thread. Its multi-thread score of 19236 and an average benchmark score of 36945 place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a well-above-average performer.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600F is essentially in a dead heat. It is within 0.5% of the average score of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Intel Core i9-12900T. This indicates that in a CPU-bound scenario, you would not see a meaningful difference in performance with any of these processors. The FPS data supports this; even at the CPU-heavy 1080p Low preset, where the CPU is more likely to be a limiting factor, the system still produces 148 FPS. This is a high enough number to suggest the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's demands without causing a severe bottleneck. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache is a significant asset for the simulator, which processes a large amount of terrain and object data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the undisputed performance leader in this configuration. This is a high-end graphics card with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a substantial 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2505 MHz, and it features 9728 shading units. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is to render the complex scenery, weather effects, and lighting, and the data shows it performs this task exceptionally well. The RTX 4080 has a PassMark G3D score of 34457 and is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The performance deltas to its nearest rivals are minimal. It sits just 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER and is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. The most telling comparisons are against the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and the AMD Radeon 8060S, where the RTX 4080 is 2.6% and 2.7% behind, respectively. These results are within the margin of error for benchmarking and confirm that the RTX 4080 is at the top tier of graphics hardware. The GPU's strength is most evident in the 4K results, where it maintains an average of 73 FPS on High settings. This is a demanding resolution for any game, and the ability to hold a 70+ FPS average in a simulator of this complexity demonstrates the card's immense raw power and its ample VRAM buffer.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 places this system in an elite tier. The data shows a combination rank of 482 out of 3714 tested combos, putting it in the top 13% of all systems benchmarked for this game. This ranking reflects the synergy between the two components. While the CPU is a mid-range part in the grand scheme of things, it is more than sufficient to feed the high-end GPU. The system's overall capability is determined largely by the GPU, and the RTX 4080's performance ensures that this combo will provide a premium experience.

This high rank means that the system will outperform the vast majority of other configurations. The gap in performance between this combo and those ranked lower is likely due to less powerful GPUs, which would struggle to maintain high frame rates at 1440p or 4K. The Ryzen 5 5600F, while not the absolute fastest CPU available, does not hold the RTX 4080 back to a significant degree. The result is a balanced system that lands near the top of the performance charts, offering a level of performance that is typically reserved for flagship-tier builds.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across different resolutions reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. As resolution increases, the frame rate decreases, but the rate of decrease is not linear, highlighting where the system's strengths and weaknesses lie. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average FPS drops from 122 to 99, a 23 FPS reduction (an 18.9% decrease). This is a significant drop, but the resulting 99 FPS is still very smooth. The more demanding jump is from 1440p to 4K, where the average FPS on High falls from 99 to 73, a 26 FPS reduction (a 26.3% decrease). This steeper decline is a clear indicator that the GPU is being pushed to its limits at 4K.

This scaling behavior tells us that the system is heavily GPU-limited. If it were CPU-limited, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increased, because the CPU would be the bottleneck regardless of pixel count. The fact that the FPS drops by roughly 26% when pixel count increases by a factor of 2.25 (from 1440p to 4K) suggests that the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU has enough headroom to handle the increased graphical load, but the RTX 4080's rendering pipeline is what ultimately caps performance. The 1080p Low preset, which is the most CPU-sensitive scenario, produces 148 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset, which is the most GPU-intensive, produces 70 FPS. This wide range confirms that the frame rate is highly dependent on the graphical workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Here is the exact measured FPS data for this combination.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average FPS of 148.
• Medium: Average FPS of 135, with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 155.
• High: Average FPS of 122.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 117.

At 1080p, the system is incredibly powerful. Even on Ultra, it maintains a high average of 117 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 115 FPS, suggesting a stable experience without major frame drops. The difference between Low and Ultra is 31 FPS, showcasing the GPU's ability to handle the full range of settings at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average FPS of 138.
• Medium: Average FPS of 126, with a minimum of 107 and a maximum of 145.
• High: Average FPS of 99.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 95.

At 1440p, the performance is still excellent. The Medium preset's minimum of 107 FPS is very solid. The High and Ultra presets are close, with a difference of only 4 FPS, making High the more efficient choice. This resolution is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a great balance of visual detail and high, consistent frame rates.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average FPS of 125.
• Medium: Average FPS of 97, with a minimum of 83 and a maximum of 112.
• High: Average FPS of 73.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 70.

At 4K, the RTX 4080's power is fully utilized. The Low preset still achieves an impressive 125 FPS. The Medium preset provides a solid 97 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS, which is the only data point for minimum FPS at this resolution. The High and Ultra presets are nearly identical, at 73 and 70 FPS respectively. This shows that at 4K, the Ultra preset offers no tangible benefit over High, making High the recommended setting for a smoother experience.